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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, today sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing concern over reports that the Trump administration suspended several U.S. national security and technology-related measures against China. The lawmakers demanded written responses on what commercial restrictions and related measures were paused, who directed those decisions, and whether a national or technology security assessment has been made.

Text of the letter is below. A PDF copy of the letter can be found here. 

Dear Secretary Lutnick, 

We write with great concern that the Department of Commerce may be neglecting its statutory responsibility to protect America’s national security and technology leadership by delaying or suspending actions targeting the People’s Republic of China (PRC). On February 12, Reuters reported that “the Trump administration has shelved a number of key tech security measures aimed at Beijing ahead of an April meeting between the two countries’ presidents.” As members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we request clarification regarding these reported decisions. 

According to the report, the Department halted several crucial security measures, including restrictions on sales in the United States by TP-Link, China Unicom, and China Mobile as well as of PRC electric trucks. Given the bipartisan consensus that the PRC represents our greatest geopolitical competitor, Commerce has a duty to prevent sensitive U.S. technology and critical infrastructure from exposure to malign actors. Reports that staff were directed to prioritize other countries over China, along with leadership changes and a rollback of prior export controls raise additional concerns about whether BIS is being permitted to carry out its mandate. 

The Administration’s actions suggest a troubling pattern of sacrificing America’s national and economic security to stabilize relations with China and resolve the trade war the President himself started. Accordingly, we request written responses by March 6, 2026, to the following: 

1. Over the past year, did BIS personnel recommend or plan restrictions on sales of PRC electric trucks or by TP-Link, China Unicom, or China Mobile?
   1. If so, what specific restrictions or bans were being proposed in each case?
   2. If so, what was the justification for the proposed restriction in each case?
2. What specific PRC-focused actions have been paused or delayed by the Department or BIS in the past year?
3. Who directed these decisions and what was the rationale?
4. What is the anticipated duration of the pause on PRC-focused actions?
5. Have you or senior leaders at the Bureau of Industry and Security issued any guidance, formal or informal, to staff to ignore China, and focus on other nations instead?
6. For each of the PRC-focused actions that have been paused, has the Department made an assessment of the national security and technology security consequences? If so, please share those assessments with the committee. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement after the UN’s International Fact-Finding Mission concluded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed acts of genocide against non-Arab communities in Sudan’s El Fasher city.

“Yesterday’s UN report confirmed our worst fears—that the RSF waged a cruel, genocidal campaign targeting non-Arab communities in Sudan’s Darfur region. As the RSF captured El Fasher last October, it perpetrated a number of horrific crimes against the city’s Fur and Zaghawa communities, including mass killings, rape, and torture. These acts concluded an 18-month siege in which the RSF starved the city’s residents, attacked its medical facilities, and blocked humanitarian aid, actions intended to maximize civilians’ pain and suffering.

“The United States cannot allow these crimes to stand without consequence. Yesterday, the U.S. government sanctioned three RSF commanders who perpetrated war crimes in El Fasher. While I support this designation, additional action is needed to prevent the RSF from committing further acts of genocide. The Trump administration should sanction the RSF as an entity and press the UAE to cease providing weapons to the armed group. Moreover, the administration must ensure lifesaving aid reaches the survivors of the El Fasher siege. Failing to do so would place hundreds of thousands of lives at risk and embolden the RSF to commit further genocidal acts in Sudan.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green Ohio)

This evening, Congressman Bob Latta (OH-5) will be joined by Chuck Bills, President and CEO at Ohio Logistics, for the President’s State of the Union Address.  

“I am pleased to announce that Chuck Bills, President and CEO of Ohio Logistics, will be my guest at this year’s State of the Union address. Since its founding in 1988 as a single 40,000-square-foot facility, Ohio Logistics has grown into a company that now owns and operates more than 8 million square feet across 27 locations in six states, employing over 450 associates. A steadfast leader from Findlay, Chuck has led the company with a strong commitment to innovation, growth, and supporting Ohio’s workforce. Beyond his business leadership, Chuck is also a dedicated supporter of Flag City Honor Flight, generously giving his time and resources to ensure our veterans can visit the Washington, D.C. memorials built in their honor. It is wonderful to have Chuck join me tonight, and I thank him for all he does for Ohioans,” said Latta. 

“I am grateful for the opportunity to attend tonight’s State of the Union and hear from President Trump. It is an honor to be invited by my Congressman, Rep. Bob Latta, and I thank him for his continued leadership and strong advocacy for Ohioans back home. I look forward to hearing the President’s vision for our nation and the priorities ahead,” said Chuck Bills.  

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is holding a Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee hearing titled, Powering America’s AI Future: Assessing Policy Options to Increase Data Center Infrastructure.

Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below:

Thank you, Chairman McCormick and Ranking Member Sykes, for holding this hearing. Thank you to our witnesses for appearing today. 

this hearing is a great opportunity for all of us to think carefully about an issue that has moved to the center of our political debate. Data centers loom large in the United States today. They are presented as the foundation of America’s global leadership in artificial intelligence. They are the subject of projected investment on an astonishing level, perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars in the years to come. They are a major source of economic growth and an engine of the stock market. Everything about data centers seems outsized in scale and ambition. 

Of course, there is another side to the story. The impacts of data centers on local communities can be just as huge as their national aspirations. Data centers require massive amounts of energy to operate, and their demand for electricity threatens to strain our electric grid and send energy prices surging for residents and small businesses. They consume enormous amounts of water to prevent overheating and emit air pollutants from backup diesel generators that can expose nearby communities to health hazards. They create noise pollution that can distress people living nearby. And their demand for power, if it comes from fossil fuels instead of clean energy, could deal a dangerous setback to America’s clean energy transition. 

This debate has a familiar ring to Californians. Our state has considerable experience in trying to balance the transformative economic growth that technological innovation can bring with the impacts of that growth on cost of living and affordability. Certainly for those of us in the Bay Area, this has been a crucial question for many, many years. And California will be central to this debate once again, as the state with the third-largest concentration of data centers in the country. 

I have no doubt that different communities will reach different conclusions about what is in their best interest. But there is one thing we should all be able to agree on: more data and more transparency about data center impacts is essential. Communities should not have to make decisions about whether to host a data center without access to basic information about electricity usage, water consumption, air quality, noise pollution, and the potential effect on energy prices. Researchers should be able to use real world data to improve their models and forecasts about data center impacts, instead of relying so heavily on estimates and assumptions. All of us – policymakers, regulators, researchers, local communities, the American people – need consistent, reliable, transparent data to make informed decisions about data center growth. The lack of that transparency is troubling, and I look forward to discussing it further today.  

It is worth remembering that ignoring data center impacts does not make them go away. The Trump Administration has become America’s biggest cheerleader for the data center buildout. All we ever hear from this administration is that the best thing for America is more data centers, built as quickly as possible, in as many parts of the country as possible. That strikes me as a foolish and shortsighted approach. If our country is not smart about data centers – if we fail to act with diligence and prudence – mistakes will be made that will inevitably cause a backlash, the beginnings of which are already starting to be seen. 

Data center operators and their supporters should appreciate that their social license to operate is a valuable and fragile thing. It is in their own self-interest to be as transparent as possible about data center impacts so that the country can make reasoned judgments about how to sustainably mitigate them. I hope to learn more in today’s hearing about what the federal government can do to support that kind of transparency. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) will be attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address with guest Lupe Lopez, co-founder of Arteaga’s Food Center, based in Gilroy, California.

“Today marks Trump’s 400^th day in office, and it has been 400 days of disaster for the American economy,” Rep. Lofgren said. “Will he use the State of the Union tonight to try and put a positive spin on this mess he’s created? The American people are feeling the consequences of Republicans’ harmful policies. They feel it every time they go to the grocery store and are crushed by Trump’s illegal tariffs that raise the price of everyday goods. I am happy to have Lupe Lopez joining me, a local grocer who has seen firsthand the impacts of Trump’s reckless and unconstitutional tariffs.”

“As an independent grocer, I see my customers struggling every day to keep food on the table and to pay for housing and electricity,” Lupe Lopez said. “I hope Donald Trump will present a clear plan to bring real relief to our working families by lowering grocery costs, eliminating burdensome tariffs, addressing excessive credit card processing fees, and reducing energy expenses.”

The typical American family spent $310 more for groceries during Trump’s first year in office compared to 2024. This includes $76 more for ground coffee, $71 more for raw ground beef, and $52 more for eggs. Despite this, President Trump has claimed that the affordability crisis he has fueled is a Democratic “hoax”.

Lopez, in addition to being co-founder of Arteaga’s Food Center, serves as Chair of the Government Relations Committee for the National Grocers Association (NGA). She was also chosen as the 2018 Women of the Year by the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce.

Arteaga’s is a family-owned business with eight locations in northern California, including three in California’s 18^th congressional district. It has been honored as Small Business of the Year by the California State Assembly.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

Norton released her question line ahead of this morning’s 10:00 a.m. hearing.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)

SCHAUMBURG, IL — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) today announced that Jaime, a University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) student and constituent whose father was detained for four days in inhumane conditions at the Broadview ICE facility — and then coerced into signing a “voluntary departure” form — will join him as his guest to President Donald Trump’s February 24 State of the Union Address.

“Donald Trump can try to rewrite his record tonight, but communities across America are living with the consequences of militarized immigration operations that have terrorized families and left Americans dead,” said Congressman Krishnamoorthi. “I’m bringing Jaime, a UIC student from my district, to the State of the Union because what happened to his father is part of a broader pattern of detainees being held in inhumane conditions, coerced into signing away their rights, and denied due process. Armed federal agents are carrying out operations in our neighborhoods without lawful restraint or accountability. I will continue working to end the Trump Administration’s abuses, restore accountability, and fight for an immigration system that actually lives up to American values.”

After federal agents seized Jaime’s father in October 2025 during the Trump Administration’s Operation Midway Blitz, he was taken to the Broadview ICE facility and held for four days in dangerously overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. Packed into a windowless room with roughly 60 men, he was denied showers, forced to sleep on the floor or standing up, and watched multiple detainees taken away on stretchers. Despite repeatedly asking to see a judge and explaining that his children were alone after their mother’s death, he was told only to sign a “voluntary departure” form — and ICE deported him the next day, even though his attorney had already secured an emergency hearing that could have halted his removal. Congressman Krishnamoorthi highlighted Jaime’s father’s experience at Broadview at an October 24 House field hearing.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi has pursued aggressive oversight of ICE, CBP, and DHS throughout Trump’s second term, including repeatedattempts to inspect Broadview — one of which ended with ICE personnel threatening to call police to block his lawful oversight visit. He has pressed DHS leadership on abuses inside Broadview, the rise in coerced “voluntary departures,” and ICE’s deployment of armed teams into Chicago-area communities under Operation Midway Blitz. By bringing Jaime to the State of the Union, Congressman Krishnamoorthi is highlighting the human consequences of these policies and reaffirming his commitment to demanding transparency, exposing abuses, and restoring lawful and accountable immigration enforcement.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Josh Harder (CA-10)

Pastor at Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina in Stockton and Saron Lutheran Church in Escalon

Longtime advocate for Valley immigrant communities

 

WASHINGTON – Ahead of the 2026 State of the Union next week, Rep. Josh Harder (CA-09) announced Reverend Nelson Rabell-González, a local pastor and immigrant advocate, as his guest for the annual joint address to Congress. A Puerto-Rican native, Rev. Rabell-González serves both Spanish- and English-speaking congregations and has been a community leader in the Valley for years, especially amid recent attacks on immigrant communities.

“Here in the Valley, we’re incredibly proud of our immigrant communities, and we’re made stronger by their accomplishments and contributions. Despite recent attacks on our neighbors, our community has remained united around protecting Valley families, and Rev. Rabell-González has been at the center of those efforts,” said Rep. Harder. “As a faith leader in the Valley for years, Rev. Rabell-González has been a trusted partner and source of warmth and acceptance during these chaotic times – I’m incredibly honored to have him as my guest and to bring these stories to Washington as we work to rein in these out of control attacks.”

“Our congregations and our communities will always stand up for our immigrant neighbors because Christ was also an immigrant,” said Rev. Rabell-González. “Just as churches should be a sanctuary where anybody can come without fear, Valley communities deserve to be free from these attacks, and I’m grateful for Rep. Harder’s work to hold them accountable. I’m excited to join Rep. Harder at the 2026 State of the Union and make it clear to Washington that fear will not beat us.” 

Rev. Rabell-González serves as pastor at Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina in Stockton and Saron Lutheran Church in Escalon. He is a graduate of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Rev. Rabell-González is married to Dr. Fabiola Ramos and has two young adult children.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District of Michigan)

Dingell, Walberg Lead Delegation to Honor Michigan’s 2026 Winter Olympians

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (15th District of Texas)

Washington, D.C.— As Americans struggle with a housing affordability crisis, U.S. Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), member of the House Financial Services Committee, and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), member of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced H.R. 7647, the bipartisan Minimizing Outdated Restrictions that Exclude (MORE) Opportunities for Homeownership Act.

Specifically, the bill would amend the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to expand eligibility for federally insured credit unions to improve access to low-cost liquidity, collateralized advances, and affordable housing and community investment programs under the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) System. Modernizing this outdated distinction will strengthen community-based lenders, expand responsible mortgage lending capacity, and assist more families in South Texas and across the country, achieve homeownership.

“For generations, owning a home has been largely considered part of the American dream. Yet, this dream continues to be out of reach for too many South Texas families,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “Our bill offers another path to homeownership by providing credit unions the same flexibilities as small banks and saving institutions to provide loans. This will increase affordable access to homeownership for every family.”

“The housing affordability crisis is a daily reality for families who are working hard, saving responsibly, and still watching the dream of owning a home slip further away,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick. “Part of that challenge is structural. Outdated policies restrict access to capital and limit the lending capacity of trusted community institutions. The MORE Act corrects that by modernizing the Federal Home Loan Bank system to include credit unions—expanding liquidity, increasing competition, and strengthening community-based mortgage lending. When we expand access to capital, we expand access to opportunity. This bipartisan reform helps to restore balance to our housing market and bring the American Dream of homeownership back within reach.

“America’s Credit Unions welcomes bipartisan legislation from Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez and Brian Fitzpatrick that would enhance credit unions’ ability to access the Federal Home Loan Bank system. This bill is a common-sense solution that affirms what Congress has known for years, and that the Government Accountability Office recently confirmed: access to the FHLB system for small financial institutions improves their access to liquidity, lowering rates for consumers while maintaining their safety and soundness. Ultimately, expanding access to the FHLBs would benefit thousands of community-based credit unions and give them a powerful, safe tool to support homeownership, strengthen local communities, and help more people build financial security.” – Scott Simpson, president/CEO, America’s Credit Unions

“We appreciate the leadership of Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Brian Fitzpatrick in recognizing that credit unions are vital community financial institutions. Access to the Federal Home Loan Bank system strengthens our ability to provide mortgages, manage liquidity, and serve members in good times and bad.” – Jim Phelps, EVP, chief advocacy officer, Cornerstone League. 

“We commend Representatives Fitzpatrick and Gonzalez for sponsoring this important legislation as a step toward ensuring credit unions have fair access to the Federal Home Loan Bank system. When credit unions can fully participate in the FHLB, they are better positioned to expand mortgage lending, support local housing markets, and deliver long-term stability for the members and communities who rely on them. Expanding access strengthens not just credit unions, but the communities they serve.” – Patrick Conway, president/CEO CrossState Credit Union Association.

Under current law, the Federal Home Loan Bank Act defines a “community financial institution” (CFI) as a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured depository institution with average total assets below the statutory cap—adjusted annually by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. This includes small banks and savings institutions whose deposits are insured under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Federally insured credit unions may join the FHLB System, but because their deposits are insured under the Federal Credit Union Act rather than the FDIC Act, they are not currently treated as CFIs.

The full bill text can be found here. 

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